Page:Joseph Payne Brennan - H. P. Lovecraft, An Evaluation.pdf/10

6. Outsider" is one of Lovecraft's finest stories. It possesses the merit of compression; with rising intensity it achieves its single shuddery effect--and ends. Some aspects of this story call to mind Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"; both stories achieve their effects with a minimum of wordage, both linger in the mind.

"Pickman's Model" is one of Lovecraft's strongest stories. It has unity of effect, suspense, a highly original plot idea, and a climax which neatly and forcefully ends the story. It is not quite as tightly knit as "The Music of Erich Zann" or "The Outsider", but it is still Lovecraft writing at his top-level best. The "nameless blasphemy with glaring red eyes" gnawing at a human head would probably feel at home in one of those unspeakable grottos under the infamous walls of Exham Priory!

I have mentioned Lovecraft's "The Hound" because it has remained in my mind after I first read it many years ago. Its structure is somewhat slight and it does not have the power of Lovecraft's very best tales, but it has splendid atmosphere and, again, brevity and unity of effect. It might have been written by the early Poe. But I cite it primarily because it has lingered long in my mind.

The limitations of this little critique do not permit me to touch on many other good Lovecraft stories. I have mentioned only five which I think are the best. I am merely expressing a personal opinion--a personal taste--and I am more than willing to admit of other opinions--no matter how they may differ from my own. Time alone will decide who is right!